Black Bean Enchiladas & Cinco De Mayo

Today is Cinco de Mayo, which is an annual Mexican festival honoring the defeat of the French. Being Texan and living so close to the border, and being American and generally disliking the French, Cinco de Mayo is widely recognized in these parts. In honor of this great Mexican tradition I thought I would share one of my favorite and cheapest Mexican meals; Black Bean Enchiladas. This has quickly become my go to meal for those nights when I forgot to plan for dinner. It is a great emergency dinner because nothing has to be defrosted and outside of the tortillas, none of the ingredients have to be “fresh”.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour beans into a mixing bowl with cilantro. Beat beans and cilantro with hand mixer (I use a stick mixer, which seems to work better, you can also use a food processor). Until the beans have become a dark paste (yes, it will look inedible). Using a spoon, line one tortilla with bean mixture and then sprinkle cheese on top. (Be careful not to overfill or you won’t be able to roll them up.) Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in a 9×13 (or 8×8, depending on how many you plan on making) baking dish. Repeat this process until you’ve filled your pan. Then pour the entire can (or jar) of enchilada sauce over all of the rolled/filled tortillas. Sprinkle the top with more cheese (I like a lot, but top it to your liking). Then bake for 30 minutes. Serve them topped with sour cream, chives, guacamole, jalapenos, or any of your favorite Mexican toppings.

Invite your friends, make some margaritas and toast our friends to the south who were kind enough to introduce us to the avocado and the Swine flu. Here are some other great Cinco de Mayo recipes to spice up your day: